---
title: Observability for Microsoft Agent Framework (.NET) with Opik
description: Start here to integrate Opik into your Microsoft Agent Framework-based .NET application for end-to-end LLM observability, unit testing, and optimization.
---

[Microsoft Agent Framework](https://github.com/microsoft/agent-framework) is a comprehensive multi-language framework for building, orchestrating, and deploying AI agents and multi-agent workflows with support for both Python and .NET implementations.

The framework provides everything from simple chat agents to complex multi-agent workflows with graph-based orchestration, built-in OpenTelemetry integration for distributed tracing and monitoring, and a flexible middleware system for request/response processing.

## Account Setup

[Comet](https://www.comet.com/site?from=llm&utm_source=opik&utm_medium=colab&utm_content=agent-framework-dotnet&utm_campaign=opik) provides a hosted version of the Opik platform, [simply create an account](https://www.comet.com/signup?from=llm&utm_source=opik&utm_medium=colab&utm_content=agent-framework-dotnet&utm_campaign=opik) and grab your API Key.

> You can also run the Opik platform locally, see the [installation guide](https://www.comet.com/docs/opik/self-host/overview/?from=llm&utm_source=opik&utm_medium=colab&utm_content=agent-framework-dotnet&utm_campaign=opik) for more information.

<Frame>
  <img src="/img/tracing/microsoft-agent-framework-dotnet_integration.png" alt="Microsoft Agent Framework .NET tracing" />
</Frame>

## Getting started

To use the Microsoft Agent Framework .NET integration with Opik, you will need to have the Agent Framework and the required OpenTelemetry packages installed:

```bash
# Agent Framework (2 packages)
dotnet add package Microsoft.Agents.AI --prerelease
dotnet add package Microsoft.Extensions.AI.OpenAI --prerelease

# Hosting (1 package)
dotnet add package Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting

# OpenTelemetry (3 packages)
dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Exporter.OpenTelemetryProtocol
dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Extensions.Hosting
dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http
```

You will also need to configure your OpenAI API key:

```bash
export OPENAI_API_KEY=<your-openai-api-key>
```

In addition, you will need to set the following environment variables to configure OpenTelemetry to send data to Opik:

<Tabs>
    <Tab value="Opik Cloud" title="Opik Cloud">
        If you are using Opik Cloud, you will need to set the following
        environment variables:
            
        ```bash wordWrap
        export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=https://www.comet.com/opik/api/v1/private/otel/v1/traces
        export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS="Authorization=<your-api-key>,Comet-Workspace=default"
        export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=http/protobuf
        ```

        <Tip>
            To log the traces to a specific project, you can add the
            `projectName` parameter to the `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS`
            environment variable:

            ```bash wordWrap
            export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS="Authorization=<your-api-key>,Comet-Workspace=default,projectName=<your-project-name>"
            ```

            You can also update the `Comet-Workspace` parameter to a different
            value if you would like to log the data to a different workspace.
        </Tip>
    </Tab>
    <Tab value="Enterprise deployment" title="Enterprise deployment">
        If you are using an Enterprise deployment of Opik, you will need to set the following
        environment variables:

        ```bash wordWrap
        export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=https://<comet-deployment-url>/opik/api/v1/private/otel/v1/traces
        export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS="Authorization=<your-api-key>,Comet-Workspace=default"
        export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=http/protobuf
        ```

        <Tip>
            To log the traces to a specific project, you can add the
            `projectName` parameter to the `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS`
            environment variable:

            ```bash wordWrap
            export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS="Authorization=<your-api-key>,Comet-Workspace=default,projectName=<your-project-name>"
            ```

            You can also update the `Comet-Workspace` parameter to a different
            value if you would like to log the data to a different workspace.
        </Tip>
    </Tab>
    <Tab value="Self-hosted instance" title="Self-hosted instance">

    If you are self-hosting Opik, you will need to set the following environment
    variables:

    ```bash
    export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:5173/api/v1/private/otel/v1/traces
    export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=http/protobuf
    ```

    <Tip>
        To log the traces to a specific project, you can add the `projectName`
        parameter to the `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS` environment variable:

        ```bash
        export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS="projectName=<your-project-name>"
        ```

    </Tip>
    </Tab>

</Tabs>

## Using Opik with Microsoft Agent Framework (.NET)

The Microsoft Agent Framework has built-in OpenTelemetry instrumentation. You need to configure the OpenTelemetry SDK to use HTTP/Protobuf protocol and export to Opik. Here's a complete example:

```csharp
using Microsoft.Agents.AI;
using Microsoft.Extensions.AI;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting;
using OpenAI;
using OpenTelemetry;
using OpenTelemetry.Resources;
using OpenTelemetry.Trace;

#pragma warning disable OPENAI001

const string SourceName = "AgentFramework";

// Create host with OpenTelemetry configuration
var builder = Host.CreateApplicationBuilder(args);

// Configure OpenTelemetry
builder.Services.AddOpenTelemetry()
    .ConfigureResource(resource => resource
        .AddService(serviceName: "agent-framework-demo", serviceVersion: "1.0.0"))
    .WithTracing(tracing => tracing
        .AddSource(SourceName)                      // Our custom spans
        .AddSource("*Microsoft.Extensions.AI")      // Chat client telemetry
        .AddSource("*Microsoft.Extensions.Agents*") // Agent telemetry
        .AddHttpClientInstrumentation()             // HTTP calls
        .AddOtlpExporter());                        // Reads OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_* env vars automatically

var host = builder.Build();
await host.StartAsync();

// Create instrumented chat client
// Note: OpenAI SDK requires explicit API key, but you can read from env var
var apiKey = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("OPENAI_API_KEY") 
    ?? throw new InvalidOperationException("OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable is required");

using var instrumentedChatClient = new OpenAIClient(apiKey)
    .GetChatClient("gpt-4o-mini")
    .AsIChatClient()                    // Convert to Microsoft.Extensions.AI.IChatClient
    .AsBuilder()
    .UseOpenTelemetry(                  // Enable telemetry on chat client
        sourceName: SourceName,
        configure: (cfg) => cfg.EnableSensitiveData = true)
    .Build();

// Create instrumented agent
var agent = new ChatClientAgent(
    instrumentedChatClient,
    name: "Assistant",
    instructions: "You are a helpful assistant.")
    .AsBuilder()
    .UseOpenTelemetry(SourceName)       // Enable telemetry on agent
    .Build();

// Run agent - telemetry is automatic!
Console.WriteLine(await agent.RunAsync("Write a haiku about AI agents."));

// Ensure traces are flushed
var tracerProvider = host.Services.GetService<TracerProvider>();
tracerProvider?.ForceFlush();
await Task.Delay(2000);

await host.StopAsync();
```

<Note>
**Important**: The .NET OpenTelemetry SDK requires explicitly setting `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=http/protobuf` to use HTTP with Protocol Buffers. If not set, it defaults to gRPC which is not supported by Opik's endpoint.

You can also configure this programmatically:
```csharp
.AddOtlpExporter(options =>
{
    options.Protocol = OtlpExportProtocol.HttpProtobuf;
})
```
</Note>

The framework will automatically:
- Create traces for agent executions
- Log input prompts and outputs
- Track token usage and performance metrics
- Capture any errors or exceptions

## Further improvements

If you would like to see us improve this integration, simply open a new feature
request on [Github](https://github.com/comet-ml/opik/issues).

## Reference

For more information about the Microsoft Agent Framework OpenTelemetry integration, see:
- [Agent Framework OpenTelemetry Sample](https://github.com/microsoft/agent-framework/tree/main/dotnet/samples/GettingStarted/AgentOpenTelemetry)
- [OpenTelemetry .NET Documentation](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/languages/net/)


